Master of the Moon and the Night (2)

My second Demon Dragon Transformation since the Hall of Magic.

As the power of the demon dragon took root in my body, a sense of omnipotence surged up through me.

It feels a little different from last time.

Back then, I'd forced the transformation on an already exhausted body. Now I was in perfect condition, without a single complication.

Which meant I could wield this power freely.

Thump! Thump!

Every beat of my heart sent my mana roiling.

For the first time in a long while, it felt like I could crush anything beneath my heel.

"My, my… you've pulled out another wondrous power."

Diana's eyes went round.

"Ahh… this colossal mana! And that form of yours—as I expected…."

I could feel the feverish delight in her gaze. She licked her lips as if beholding a gourmet meal and wore an unsettling smile.

"If I win, I'll have to revise the terms of our contract a little."

Moonlight poured down in a dazzling torrent, weaving countless spells into being all at once.

A dance of light that could only be called breathtaking.

But the power riding within it was explosive.

"You and Horizon both—you'll simply have to become mine."

"Your greed is getting out of hand."

"Heheh. Greed is a privilege granted only to the strong."

The sky itself bleached silver with moonlight.

Moonbeams with a will of their own curved through the air, homing in on me. I tightened my grip on the lance and brought forth my dragon mana.

"Resonance."

Violet dragon mana coiled around the lance and discharged in a single burst.

Kwooooom!

In an instant it swallowed Diana's spells whole and charged straight toward her position.

"…!"

Diana's face hardened as she crossed her hands, moonlight interlacing into a shield.

Crack!

Fissures spiderwebbed across the barrier.

She'd turned aside everything I'd thrown at her so far, but even she couldn't shrug off the power of Demon Dragon Transformation without strain.

"Khh…!"

Gritting her teeth, she barely held Dragon Breath at bay.

Unlike before, the composure had drained from her face.

"I knew it."

I rested the lance on my shoulder and smirked.

"That 'moon' is the anchor of this domain, isn't it?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly—the mark had landed.

"I did wonder what was off. You keep blocking attacks you could easily dodge."

Because she was protecting that moon.

This domain unfolded around that moon, too.

Piece every factor together, and the answer was simple: shatter the moon, and the domain would collapse on its own.

"Sharp, aren't you?"

"I had to be, in one way or another."

Ruin is never merciful—if the weak lack even keen instincts, it's the perfect recipe for dying a dog's death. From carving out my own survival at every turn, I'd honed the ability to read an opponent, find their openings, and seize the crack in their armor.

"You're right. The moon is what sustains this 'Polar Night.' Beneath the moon, moonlight only shines brighter."

"Then I'll smash that moon."

"Heheh. Do give it a try."

Diana gave a lazy wave of her hand, eyes crinkling into a smile. At the same moment, moonlight began to drape over her whole body like a garment.

Diana perched atop the moon in her enormous peaked hat, legs crossed with bewitching elegance.

A crescent-moon tattoo had bloomed on her white cheek.

"Now that you know my weakness, I suppose I have no choice but to get serious."

"And here I thought you were going easy on me."

"That was the plan, originally."

Desire gleamed and slid in her eyes.

Not the impulse of a World Ranker—the naked craving of a mage.

"Because I want you. Every last thing that is yours."

There wasn't a shred of pretense in those words, and I couldn't help a quiet laugh.

"Then I hope you've steeled yourself for the opposite as well."

If you want to take all of me—

Then you'd best be prepared to lose all of you.

Kuuuuuum!

A colossal magic array unfolded across the entire night sky.

The moon and the stars became my enemies, priming themselves to strike.

"Moonlight—"

The witch brought down the violet sky.

"—Waning Gibbous."

Kugogogogo—!

Blades of moonlight beyond counting came hammering down.

A meteor shower of moonlight, like the day the world would end.

"Moss."

At my call, Moss burst out from the shadows.

His bulk, grown with each level, his frame matured. I gave his grown form a small smile.

"Shield me."

I gave the order.

"Grraaaaah—!"

Whoosh!

Moss shot powerfully skyward and planted himself before the falling blades, wrenching his dragon mana taut.

Unlike the imitation I performed through 'Resonance,' this was the genuine article—a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠true dragon's rain of mana. Hundreds of mana bolts materialized at once and shot down the blades of moonlight.

Kwakwakwang!

Moss had torn open a gap for me. I funneled mana into my wings—

—and cloaked myself in wind, charging with savage momentum!

Booom!

Kicking off empty air, I shot upward in a single bound.

Even I was startled by my own speed.

"Hup!"

Holding my breath, I drove the lance straight down.

Hell's Three Spears

First Spear: Demon Mountain

The first thrust struck Diana's barrier dead-on. A violent shock erupted, and shards of moonlight scattered like glass.

The instant I moved into the second thrust—

Kuum! Bang!

A streak of moonlight flew in out of nowhere and hit me square in the side.

"Kghak?!"

My body went cartwheeling through the air. Fortunately, I came to my senses before the fall—but still.

Absurd power…!

I'd been grazed by just one strand out of that endless barrage, and my arms and legs were still trembling.

I'd been too busy gawking at the volume of fire to remember.

This is Diana's magic we're talking about.

Every single bolt rivaled the attacks of a run-of-the-mill S-rank hunter.

"Flustered, are we?"

Diana laughed behind her hand. Only then did I notice the mirror-like structures that had sprung up around the battlefield.

She reflected the moonlight!

Fire wide on purpose to lull me into carelessness, then bend the trajectory and strike from the flank. A thoroughly cunning trick.

"Finally, a direct hit."

Diana dipped her head slightly and met my eyes. Then came the relentless follow-up—

Kwakwakwa!

—a storm of moonlight.

"Kgh!"

Far from losing force as time wore on, the barrage hunted me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with growing precision and strength. I slid the lance away and drew out a spear.

Spear God's Wild Dance

Myriad Streams: Dance Beneath the Moonlit River

Even as I deflected the moonlight in flowing arcs, light came hunting me from entirely different angles.

Booom!

"Kuh!"

In the end, a second blow slammed into my back.

Agony like my body splitting in two. Where the moonlight had touched directly, an extreme searing heat clawed at every nerve.

"Haah…!"

I forced my breathing back under control and focused my mind.

"Impressive. I didn't expect you to hold out this long."

Diana rose from the moon, condensing moonlight into her palm.

"Honestly, it wounds my pride a little. Here I am giving my all, and you're still standing."

On the surface, the situation looked worse for me. But the mere fact that this scene was playing out at all defied common sense for Diana—

A mere F-rank hunter, trading blows with a World Ranker.

"Let's finish this quickly. I have you and Horizon to collect."

She 'peeled away' from the moon and walked across empty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠air.

"Bold of you."

"Protective magic works just fine at long range. Besides…"

The densest cluster of light I had seen from her all day hardened into the shape of a greatsword.

"Sitting still gets dreadfully boring, you see."

Gripping the greatsword, she cut it sideways through the air. A blade of moonlight bloomed along the arc and split space apart.

Kwaaaaaang!

A sword strike of annihilating force swallowed me in an instant.

I twisted away by a hair—but barely.

…This is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not an attack I can afford to take.

Stronger than even Deus Ex Machina's pillar-thrust mode.

That was the gulf between the doorstep of S-rank and a World Ranker.

"David taught me that one. Handy, isn't it?"

So that's why the quality of her magic was no joke.

The technique beneath it belonged to the 'Lion King' himself.

"Brace yourself. The next one ends it."

"Now that… I look forward to."

I forced a smile and tightened my grip on the spear. And then, at last, a message rose before me.

"Then I, too, shall smash that moon with my next attack."

"…I'll give you credit—your pride hasn't broken one bit."

Magic arrays and threads of mana stitched themselves across my vision. Mana poured out of me like a waterfall.

Light gathered along the spear's length, sculpting it into a massive radiant lance.

"Ahh!"

At the sight of it, Diana's eyes flooded with even deeper madness.

"It's you…! You truly are—!"

A staggering torrent of power gathered into her greatsword. She, too, was preparing the blow meant to end everything.

Kugugugung!

Space warped grotesquely. The greatsword groaned and shrieked as it was dragged into the moonlight, as though it could barely contain what it held.

"I want it so badly…!"

"…"

This is why I never wanted to show this side of myself to anyone from the Magic Tower. And for all that resolve, here I was displaying it to the highest person in the Tower.

No matter.

I could always slap a 'contract' on Diana, just as I had with Ji Yeon-ha.

And for that—

I win this duel.

Hand pressed to my heart, I detonated the demon dragon's power.

Kugugugugu!

Black energy converged on the radiant spear, the two forces layering over one another.

And on top of that—

I layered the Yacha spear art.

Nameless Spear Technique

Tiger Calamity: Raging Wind

Pazzzzzzk!

Three forces fused into a single thrust of transcendent power.

"Now, then."

I leveled the spear and stared dead ahead.

"Let's finish this."

Boom!

No one moved first—we lunged at the exact same instant.

The witch's magic became a blade, descending to cleave me in two. Moonlight flooded along the arc she'd carved, filling it out until the shape of a moon hung complete in the air.

And rising against it—

"Three forces, united as one."

—a single spear.

"Heaven-Breaker!"

Whether the thing hanging in the sky was a sun or a moon—it hung in the same sky either way.

Kwaaak!

I wrenched every ounce of strength to its limit and drove the spear in.

At last Diana's magic and my spear locked together, and a violent shockwave burst forth.

"…Kghak!"

It felt like my body would shatter where I stood.

This was the level of a World Ranker. The strong of this world, before whom I had to bring out every inch of growth I'd ever earned simply to clash.

But.

Did that mean I could never reach them?

Crrrk!

Obviously not.

Crrrk-krrrk!

"Wh… what…?! Why is this—?!"

A hairline crack had opened in her greatsword.

The fissure rooted itself deeper and spread, growing wider by the moment.

Spear of the Halo!

The spell Wiz had forged through 'Magic Creation'—a magic purpose-built to pierce moonlight with maximum efficiency. And layered atop that foundation, the demon dragon's power and the Nameless Spear Technique.

At least against Diana's moonlight—

No power on the field carried a worse matchup than this spear, right here, right now!

"Haaaaaap!"

Pagagagak!

"N-no! Something's wrong with this—!"

Crrrk!

"That's… that's impossible! I'm being pushed back?!"

Despair settled over Diana's face.

I poured the last of my strength down the spear's shaft and let the corner of my mouth curl upward.

"GG."

"That's…?! D-don't tell me you're Anonymous10—!"

Before she could even finish—

Pagagaang!

—the greatsword of moonlight shattered into dust.

It was a historic moment: the day a World Ranker fell to an F-rank hunter.